Friday, February 23, 2024

This Day In Iraqi History - Feb 23 1st Anfal Campaign began against PUK in Sulaymaniya

 

1917 British seized Sannaiyat outside Kut after 6 days of fighting British had 1,996

casualties

 

1935 PM Ayubi Jawadat resigned over Mid Euphrates tribe revolt started by his rivals Yasin

al-Hashemi Rashid Ali Al-Gaylani of Ikha and Sheikh Wahid who was excluded from parliament

(Musings On Iraq review The Chatham House Version and other Middle-Eastern Studies)

1942 Al-Ahali party started publishing new paper Sawt al-Ahali Pushed for elections

Freedom of press Raising living standards Palestine

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq’s Democratic Moment)

1946 Tawfiq Suwaidi became PM 2nd time Was supposed to carry out Regent’s reform

program Ended martial law allowed limited political parties freed political prisoners lifted censorship 1922-58 were 59 cabinets

(Musings On Iraq review ‘Independent Iraq’ The Monarchy & British Influence, 1941-1958)

(Musings On Iraq review My Memoirs, Half a Century of the History of Iraq and the Arab Cause)

1959 Communists called for march in Mosul to counter rumors of military revolt against Gen

Qasim there

(Musings On Iraq review Red Star Over Iraq, Iraqi Communism Before Saddam)

(Musings On Iraq A History Of The Iraqi Communist Party Interview With Univ of East Anglia’s Johan Franzen)

(Musings On Iraq Revolutionary Times, Gen. Qasim And Iraq’s 1958 Coup, Interview With Western Kentucky’s Prof. Juan Romero)

1980 Start of major military operation against Kurds

(Musings On Iraq review The Kurds, A Modern History)

(Musings On Iraq review Kurds of Iraq, Tragedy and Hope)

1985 Iraqi military intel warned Iranian offensive would happen in Basra’s Fish Lake Was

wrong

1986 Iraq’s southern front to retake Faw in Basra stopped by Iranian anti-tank missiles

1986 KDP launched preparatory attacks in Sulaymaniya to support Iranian offensive starting

next day in area

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Anthony Tucker-Jones on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq interview with author Tom Cooper on Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review Iran-Iraq War, The Lion of Babylon, 1980-1988)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War)

(Musings On Iraq review The Longest War, The Iran-Iraq Military Conflict)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 1: The Battle for Khuzestan, September 1980-May 1982)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 2: Iran Strikes back, June 1982-December 1986)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 3: Iraq’s Triumph)

(Musings On Iraq review The Iran-Iraq War Volume 4: The Forgotten Fronts)

1988 1st Anfal Campaign targeted PUK HQ in Jafati Valley, Sulaymaniya Yakhsamar

Sergalou Bergalou attacked

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Anfal Campaign And The Destruction Of The Kurdish Opposition)

1990 Saddam speech at Arab Cooperation Council Talked about challenge caused by decline

of Eastern Bloc Called US imperialists Demanded US withdraw naval forces from Persian Gulf

1991 Iraq said it agreed to Soviet peace plan and would withdraw from Kuwait unconditionally

1991 UN Security Council met Western countries said they weren’t interested in Soviet

            peace plan

1991 Bush ordered Gen Schwarzkopf to expel Iraq from Kuwait

1991 2 Al-Hussein missiles fired at Saudi Arabia 1 at Tel Aviv

1992 Report when Bush elected senior officials pushed Agriculture Dept to give billions in

loans to Iraq to buy US farm products Dept was afraid Iraq could not pay back money and that some of it was being used for weapons Oct 89 Bush signed NSD 26 Said US had to maintain good relations with Iraq to secure Persian Gulf Nov 89 Bush okayed $1 bil aid package to Iraq Apr and Jun 90 White House rejected call to limit high tech sales to Iraq that could be used for weapons programs

(Musings On Iraq review Spider’s Web, The secret history of how the White House illegally armed Iraq)

1994 Saddam diverted Tigris into southern marshes to put down rebels there

(Musings On Iraq How Saddam Destroyed An Eco-System And Its People In The Southern Marshes Of Iraq)

1996 Hussein and Saddam Kamil killed by uncle Ali Hassan al-Majid and members of tribe

after talked into returning to Iraq

1998 UN Sec Gen Anan signed memo of understanding with inspections Said would allow

one time inspection of presidential sites Afterward Foreign Sec Aziz sent letter to UN attempting to change the terms of the deal

(Musings On Iraq Iraq’s Rejection of UN Inspectors Led To Mistrust Over WMD and 2003 Invasion)

(Musings On Iraq Charles Duelfer’s Account Of The End Of The 1990s U.N. Inspections)

(Musings On Iraq review The Greatest Threat, Iraq, Weapons of Mass Destruction, And The Growing Crisis Of Global Security)

1998 Bin Laden issued fatwa against US sanctions on Iraq and called for attacks against it

1999 State Dept denied that US was using UN inspectors to spy on Iraq but it was

(Musings On Iraq UN Inspectors and CIA Spying On Iraq In The 90s)

(Musings On Iraq review Iraq In The Eye of the Storm)

2001 Bush met PM Blair 1st time Said he wanted realistic Iraq policy Said Arab states thought

sanctions were hurting Iraqi people Sec State Powell said Iraq weaker than before but using oil money to develop WMD Bush was afraid US plane would be shot down over No Fly Zones Bush said he wanted to weaken Saddam and make him less of an issue

2003 Iraqi Army Chief of Staff sent orders to Basra units to conduct offensive ops to disrupt the

enemy but didn’t give any details on how or what to do

2004 UN Rep Brahimi report said earliest Iraq could hold elections was late 2004-early 2005

(Musings On Iraq US Army History Of Iraq War Vol 1- Chapter 11 The Gathering Storm)

2004 US killed Nidhal Mohammed Arabiyat Al Qaeda in Iraq’s top bombmaker Developed

early car bombs

2006 Iraqi govt ordered curfew in Baghdad Salahaddin Diyala Babil after Samarra bombing

2006 US report Sadr changed order to kill all Sunnis in east Baghdad Were to be taken to

Sadr City to be executed instead

(Musings On Iraq review Voices From Iraq, A People’s History, 2003-2009)

2006 US report Iraqi army and police assisting Mahdi Army to kill Sunnis in east Baghdad

2006 Insurgents stopped vehicles in Baquba Diyala and executed 47 people who were heading to

protest against Samarra bombing

2006 Sunnis withdrew from talks with United Iraqi Alliance over new govt saying authorities

were not preventing revenge attacks after Samarra bombing

2006 Sec Gen of Iraqi National Dialogue Front Hayan said revenge attacks after Samarra

bombing were how a civil war started

2006 Assoc of Muslim Scholars said 168 Sunni mosques attacked 10 imams killed 15

abducted after Samarra bombing

(Musings On Iraq Spiritual Leader To Iraq’s Insurgency Harith Dhari Dies In Exile)

2006 Interior Min said 18 Sunnis mosques in Baghdad attacked 1 imam killed 1 kidnapped

2006 US spokesman told press no civil war in Iraq No bodies in streets Iraqi govt was

confident and capable ISF were calming the streets Exact opposite happening

(Musings On Iraq US Army History of Iraq War Vol 1 – Chapter 19 The Iraqi Civil War Comes Into The Open, January-June 2006)

2006 Sec State Rice said it was unfair to Iraqis to continually talk about civil war

2007 US Special Forces arrested ISCI’s Ammar Hakim on trip back from Tehran Was only released

upon protest of Gen Petraeus

2008 Sadr said he failed because US still occupying Iraq and many of his followers had left

his movement

2008 2 suicide bombers killed Sheikh Mutairi of Anbar Salvation Council in Fallujah Part of

ISI campaign against Awakening/Sahwa

(Musings On Iraq Behind The Revival Of The Islamic State in Iraq, Interview With Naval War College Prof Craig Whiteside)

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2008 US general in charge of Baghdad said attacks down 75% since June 07 90% drop in civilian deaths 85%

drop in murders

2008 Report Basra beset by violence between militias Professionals politicians officials all

subjected to assassinations and kidnappings Many times police carried out murders Interior Min issued warrant for head of Basra Serious Crime Unit connected to Sadrists accused of running death squads but nothing done

2008 Report Basra was a mess Clashes amongst militias and political parties common 100 women killed for

not following Islamic law Professionals and sheikhs killed Police controlled by parties Sheikhs said police carried out political killings for parties 2006 Serious Crime Unit ran death squads 2008 Interior Min issued warrant for cmdr Serious Crime Unit but nothing happened because Mahdi Army 2007 848 deaths and 383 kidnappings in Basra city Police general said 30% of soldiers in city controlled by militias Basra police cmdr said his own officers tried to kill him 10 times since he took office 7 months ago When he took over said 250 police cars and 5000 pistols stolen by militias

(Musings On Iraq Review What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq)

2009 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health did review of Lancet study Found survey

forms used in field were not those originally created by team Protocol said names would never be collected but they were 1 of Lancet authors at Johns Hopkins was suspended from being principal investigator in projects involving people

(Musings On Iraq Comparing Surveys of Iraqi Deaths During The War)

(Musings On Iraq Major Flaws With The Lancet Reports On Iraqi Deaths Part I)

(Musings On Iraq Major Flaws With The Lancet Reports On Iraqi Deaths Part II)

(Musings On Iraq New Survey On Estimated Deaths In Iraq Refutes Lancet Reports)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Mark Van Der Laan on Lancet Reports)

(Musings On Iraq interview with Prof Michael Spagat on Lancet reports)

2009 Report Ex-Salafi insurgent leader said Saudis funded his group from 03-06

(Musings On Iraq The Saudi Role In The Iraqi Insurgency)

2009 Asst Dep Cmdr Saudi National Guard told US officials to marginalize PM Maliki

because he was an Iranian agent

(Musings On Iraq review A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, The Saudi Struggle For Iraq)

2009 Agriculture Min Bahadi said growing season was going badly due to drought 30% less rain

than previous years

2010 Report Maliki gotv refused to withdraw fake bomb detectors Govt spokesman Dabbagh

said that 50% of the devices didn’t work and those would be replaced with working ones

2010 Adv to Agriculture Min said drought and salinity problems with farming Said ministry trying

modern irrigation techniques and new seeds and building infrastructure

2011 National Reconciliation Min announced that 5 insurgent groups had agreed to join

politics

2011 Journalistic Freedoms Observatory office raided by ISF in Baghdad for covering protests

(Musings On Iraq Iraq Is The Most Dangerous Place In The World For Journalists)

2011 100s protested in Halabja in support of protests in Sulaymaniya 20 injured 1 killed in clashes with

security forces Attacked KDP HQ Called for early elections

(Musings On Iraq interview with journalist Wladimir Van Wilgenburg on 2011 KRG protests)

2012 Report Iraq was heading OPEC Lobbied members not to increase production to make up for sanctions

on Iran so that OPEC could then push EU to drop sanctions on Tehran

2014 Report Electricity Min said Iraq would have 24 hrs of power by Mar 2014 Didn’t happen

2014 Report CEO of Eni told Maliki govt it had to streamline red tape or it would leave  BP stopped

approving contracts it signed for Rumaila field Govt stopped issuing visas for BP workers BP said around 100 contractors were released early Feb due to problem

2014 ISIS sent 2 suicide bombers to kill Al Qaeda representative Abu Khald al-Suri who was

supposed to moderate differences between ISIS and Al Nusra Front

(Musings On Iraq review The Caliphate At War, Operational Realities and Innovations of the Islamic State)

(Musings On Iraq review Suicide Bombers In Iraq, The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom)

2015 7 killed in Shirqat dist Salahaddin after Naqshibandi and IS fought IS demanded Naqshibandi

turn over its weapons but refused leading to fight

2015 KRG Natural Resource Min Hawrami gave press conference Said Jan KRG agreed to export

550,000 bar/day of oil for Baghdad Would be 250,000 bar/day from KRG and 300,000 bar/day from Kirkuk fields In 2014 KRG agreed to export 150,000 bar/day for Baghdad in return for $500 mil/mo Only got paid twice Hawrami denied KRG not meeting quota Met with PM Abadi Said Baghdad was side having problems with its exports Then said KRG was only exporting 350,000 bar/day but would increase to 650,00 bar/day later in yr to meet quota Never did

(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Kurdistan’s Failed Independent Oil Strategy)

2015 Obama admin held meeting to review Op Inherent Resolve vs IS Found it was splintered

improvised and lacked unity of command

2016 Kurdish Alliance said they would support Abadi’s reform program if given 1/4 of positions in

new cabinet

(Musings On Iraq A Review Of Iraq Premier Abadi’s Reform Program Interview With Reidar Visser)

2017 Report Feb PM Abadi talked about natl reconciliation Said IS families should not be punished

No official policy on families Were being evicted from Qayara Ninewa and Shirqat Salahaddin Aug 2016 Salahaddin govt voted to evict IS families Special comm was formed to go through files of families Comm said families would be kicked out for no less than 10 yrs Hit Anbar decided to evict IS families

2018 Pro-Iran Hashd criticized US Said it had no right to demand that Abrams tanks Hashd had be turned

back over to Iraqi army

(Musings On Iraq Iraqi Army Supplied Pro-Iran Hashd With US Abrams Tanks)

2020 ISF killed 1 protester when opened fire on demonstration in Baghdad

2021 Report State Dept spokesman said US would hold Iran responsible for any proxy attacks upon

Americans in Iraq Came after rocket attack upon Irbil

2022 Report Oil Min Jabbar said Iraq would increase ability to export oil and use natural gas for

electric power plants Iraq produced 27 bil cubic ft of natural gas/day Didn’t have ability to exploit it Still imported 20 mil cubic ft/day of gas from Iran

View the Iraq History Timelines 

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Review Richard Engel, War Journal, My Five Years In Iraq, Simon & Schuster, 2008

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